This weekend competitors from many parts of Queensland and New South Wales will converge on Stanthorpe’s Carnell Raceway for the running of the first round of the Preston Peak Wines Queensland – New South Wales Sprint Challenge.
The event is being organised by the Short Circuit Motor Sport Association in conjunction with the Stanthorpe and District Sporting Car Club.
The Sprint Challenge will see some of the country’s top sprint competitors in action in one of the best line-ups of vehicles seen at the circuit for some time. They range from open wheel racing cars, sports cars, sports sedans down to the family sedans.
With such a strong line-up in the sprints, which will be run over four-lap heats, there will be some interesting racing on the sprint side of things.
The challenge will see the best line-up of open wheel racing cars to run at Carnell Raceway.
This event has become one of the most popular events on the sprint calendar and has attracted in excess of 100 competitors from as far away as Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Gold and Sunshine Coasts, and Brisbane.
The short circuit racing, which will be run in conjunction with the sprints, has received near record entries, with some top racing machinery both in the Improved Production and Sports Sedan classes, which should produce some really exciting door handle to door handle racing.
On the sprint side of the event, Stanthorpe will be represented in the Historic Racing Car class by local open wheel racer John Eldridge in his very well presented 1974 RB Corolla F3.
Eldridge will have some stiff opposition from Brisbane’s Vern Hamilton in a very quick 1974 Elfin 623, while Brisbane’s Darren Harris in a 1982 Van Diemen Formula Ford will be the dark horse in the pack, as it is the car’s first time in Stanthorpe.
The Pre-1972 Classic Touring Cars class will see another Stanthorpe competitor, Doug Chippendale, who was last year’s class winner in his beautifully presented 1972 MK1 Ford Escort.
Chippendale will start hot favourite in the class, but it is going to be a very interesting class as it has received some top entries.
Ashmore’s Kent Larsen will be in a 1971 Ford Escort, Coopers Plain’s Don Milner in a 1972 Triumph Dolomite Sprint, while both Toowoomba’s Mark Edwards and Noosaville’s Ian Marshall in Datsun 1600s and will be competing for valuable points.
The Junior class, which caters for young drivers from 14 to 17 years of age, will be led by last year’s junior champion Warwick’s Molly Devine who is only going into her third year in the Junior section and is going to be the one to beat.
This year there are some newcomers to the Junior ranks. Tenterfield’s 14-year-old Sheridan Layt will make her debut in a Hyundi Excel, Evans Heads’ Harry Everett will be in a Holden Gemini and it will be his first run at Stanthorpe but has some experience at hillclimbs in NSW.
Tenterfield’s Todd Hayne in his last year running as a Junior, will be competing in a Hyundi.
Young Daniel Kelly from Pampas will be running in Juniors Class B in a Holden Commodore.
Class 1 Racing Cars will see Peter Dight from Coffs Harbour make his first appearance at Carnell in a 2002 Fubar MK36.
Dight comes with top credentials and should start hot favourite for the class but will have some stiff opposition from top Queensland com-petitors Chris Lake in a 2007 Suzuki Escargo MK11, Bruce Anderson in a 2004 Renault and Steve Johns in a 2011 Esprit Sports 1300.
The sports car classes have been well supported and should produce some very spirited sprint racing.
Bruce Chamberlain will be back in a new 2001 Westfield XT22 in the under 1500cc class.
Tenterfield’s Stephen and Kylie Roos, who are both very consistent competitors, will share the drive in the Mazda RX7 in the sports cars 2001cc to 3000cc class.
Tamworth’s Ken Moffatt will be in a very quick 2011 BSN Rotar; and, to round of the top four in this class, Toowoomba’s Gary Ferguson will be back after a short layoff from racing in his Datsun 260Z.
The sprint Touring Car Class has again received record entries, with quite a few new competitors making their first appearance at Carnell Raceway.
Last year’s sprint champion, NSW’s Nick Contojohn, will be back to defend his 2011 title, and will start hot favourite in his Subaru WRX ST1 in the all-wheel drive class.
He will have to contend with Corey Baker in the Audi S4, which is untried at Stanthorpe, Troy Gordon from Tenterfield in a Subaru Impreza WRX, Dalby’s Chris Knight in a Subaru WRX, and Stuart Borrows who was the series champion in 2010 and will be the man to beat in his Nissan Skyline.
A star studded field of competitors will face the starter in Round 1 of the 2012 Queensland Short Circuit Championships, which includes the reigning champion Cec Morgan, a two time winner of the championship, who must start as hot favourite for the short circuit events.
Morgan will have his hands full to keep ahead of Lismore’s Adrian Moore (Mazda RX7), Tamworth’s Allan Barnes (Toyota Celica), Toowoomba’s Royston Evans (Ford Cortina) and Corey Baker from Jimboomba in an Audi S4.
The Improved Production class is too hard to pick, with so many top drivers, with the likes of Tamworth’s Bruce Worgan in his Commodore, David Rogers in a Ford Falcon, Shane Moffett in a BMW, Craig Albertson in a Ford Falcon XR6, and Ballina’s Bill Heuchmer, who was runner-up in the championship in 2011, in a Toyota and Warwick’s Errol Stratford and Toowoomba’s Allan Brennan in Ford Escorts.
So the stage is set for a weekend of top motor sport action at Carnell Raceway.
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